Lance Broadway

The trade of Javier Vazquez should create an opening for Broadway, and on the heels of the success the Sox have had with John Danks and Gavin Floyd, you have to keep an eye on him. Like those two, Broadway is a former first-round draft pick whose career is stalling a bit, but in the hands of Don Cooper, you can expect league-average performance, maybe a bit less.

Broadway's Triple-A numbers were very mediocre in 2007 with a very poor 108:78 K:BB ratio in 155 innings. That simply doesn't translate into much success at the big league level unless he can make some major adjustments. He may have opened some eyes with a late season, six-inning shutout effort against the Royals but there's really nothing here to get too excited about. With the departure of Jon Garland he'll battle John Danks, Gavin Floyd and Jack Egbert for the last two spots in the White Sox rotation. It could be a long season in Chicago.

Broadway put together a nice season at Double-A Birmingham, but still is underperforming for a first-round pick. He had 151 strikeouts in 117 innings in college in 2005, after all. Broadway, who interestingly had half of his right lung removed as a child, features a controlled fastball and an improving change up. He'll be in Triple-A in 2007 with the chance to bounce up to the big leagues if he gets hot. He projects to be an inning eater who throws strikes.

Broadway had an inconsistent debut after being the White Sox's first round selection, posting a 4.58 ERA in 55 High-A innings but with a 58/20 K/BB ratio. He'll need to prove that his hit rate (he got tagged at a .306 clip by opposing batters) was a fluke if he's going to advance quickly through the system.